It's an annual thing for me to find said turtles. Depending on the size of the turtle, I usually have several options:
1] Do nothing & let the turtle continue on it's trek
2] Move it off the road, in the direction it was going
3] Remove it & take it to a local body of water (adult turtles)
4] Remove it & take it home to raise until older (babies)
Occasionally, I find female turtles on my land which have selected a spot somewhere in the yard to dig their nest & lay eggs. Several times I have allowed the female turtle to complete her task, after which I have dug up the eggs & hatched them in my house. After the babies have grown a bit, I release them in the creek near where I live.
Recently one of the female turtles in my collection -- a rare turtle -- provided me with seven eggs. I had assumed her odd behavior was an indication of her desire to lay eggs & I provided her the facility -- a large container of sand -- to dig a nest, which she did.
The above photo shows the eggs as they were placed in the nest. I had to dig down in the sand to "find" the eggs, as the female turtle had completely covered them & smoothed over the surface of the sand.
A total of seven eggs were laid. Of this group, two were infertile/mishaped & were disposed of. A third egg is a bit oddly shaped as well, but has been retained. The four "good' eggs are in the top row of this photo.
In the past, I have hatched turtle eggs by placing them in a container in the cabinet above the sink. The light below the cabinet is left "on" 24/7, creating just enough favorable warmth in the cabinet to aid in egg development.
For the current batch of eggs I am trying to hatch -- along with any future eggs, wild or captive hatched -- I have invested in an incubator designed for reptile eggs. I have my fingers crossed this extra effort & expense, will prove successful in getting these latest eggs to produce baby turtles.
Hopefully, in another month or so, I will have "good news" to share regarding another "turtle egg time".
How exciting! Your incubator is cool. That is really taking your "hatchery" to another level! I look forward to seeing the outcome. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI have told NO ONE -- either amatuer or professional -- in the "turtle community" about these eggs. This -- if I can hatch the eggs -- would/will be MAJOR NEWS !!!
ReplyDeleteStill ... I am afraid to say much -- & only "shared" it on my blog -- for fear that I will JINX everything.
Knock on wood.
I agree with Aloha. This is exciting. What was the momma's unusual behavior?
ReplyDeleteGot a chance to observe a loggerhead mama lay her eggs in the pit she dug on the beach one night. Our group was supervised by a professional naturalist and it was an awesome things to see. She looked very sad crawling back out to the ocean after leaving her babies behind.
ReplyDeleteStacey -- You will have to WAIT. I have written too much already. (Knock wood ... again.)
ReplyDeleteBB -- I spent a coal black night on a beach in Costa Rica waiting for Leatherback turtles to arrive. No turtles showed up, but the billons & billions of stars made the effort memoriable.